Does Trump have Dementia?

So this has came up in a few threads regarding Trump however I do not think that
this has been given the attention it deserves. There is growing speculation that Trump might actually be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease
and that this may be what is contributing to his at times bizarre behaviour. In this thread I intend to explore this possibility further. I am very
much aware that Trump is a polarising character and that there are some who love trump and some who despise him, whatever your views I would ask you
to actually look at the evidence presented and think about this before responding.

For me, what got me first thinking about the possibility of Trump having dementia was during his campaign when he appeared to just
make up a terrorist attack in Sweden. At the time it was just dismissed by the media as “Donald being Donald”, it was just another in a
long line of gaffs that all Presidential candidates make, like when Bush said we all “missunderestimated”. Yet I thought what if it was more, when
he said it, it was like he actually believed there had been a terrorist attack in Sweden. Got me thinking, could he actually be cognitively impaired.
I work with people with dementia and its a common thing in the early stages, they say things that just don't quite sound right or ring true, often
families might say that its “dad being dad”.

Background

First of all I think it would be interesting to take moment to look at the risk factors of Trump developing Alzheimer’s disease before getting to
far into this. When we look at this we can see that Trump would be classified as a individual who is at high risk of having the disease. If we just
look at the raw facts its already clear that Trump is at high risk of developing Alzheimers disease. Currently 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 in
America have dementia (link), this risk increases exponentially with age, every 5 years a individuals odds of
developing dementia after that age doubles (Link). So Trump is in the
right age group to get the disease and I think its also worth remembering that his father Fred Trump had the disease. At this point its probably worth
mentioning that Alzheimers is not thought to be hereditary but a family history of the disease can increase risk factor.

An other thing worth mentioning is the information we already have regarding Trumps health, which is not very much. Other than a very short letter
from his doctor that was only four paragraphs long there is little to go by. What we do know is that Trump takes a statin used to lower cholesterol,
high cholesterol has been linked to Alzheimers which again may make Trump more susceptible to the disease
(Link).

iIs probably important to mention at this point, just because everyone over the age of 65 is at risk of developing dementia does not mean that anyone
over that age or that has a family history of the disease should not be president. Actually far from it, by pointing this out I am only wanting to
highlight that Trump is with in the at risk group before looking at the evidence that suggests he might actually really have dementia.

The Evidence.

Now the only conclusive evidence of Trump having dementia could come from a official diagnosis made by a qualified medical practitioner. So with that
said what follows is evidence that has been noticed by many though looking at his current behaviours. It is interesting to note that there is
president for this, writing a few years ago Reagan’s son Ron wrote that three years into his fathers time in office he could see his cognitive
decline as early as 1984, citing changes in his speech
(Link). It is those same changes in speech patters
than also suggest that Trump may also be suffering the same way Reagan was.

This has been explored in a blogpost by “the
neurocritic” who has studied Trumps speech patterns and made some very interesting observations. Firstly it is noted that when looking at
linguistic contributing factors to demential there are four main categories that are assessed. They are:

Researchers have now taken this information and used it to compare both Reagan and George
Bush snr and they have made some very interesting observations. In almost all aspects of spontaneous speech significant differences were noted between
the two men. Not only that but it was also found that with time Reagan’s speech got worse with time and Bush’s remained consistent.

Now if we take a moment to compare Trumps speech patters of 20 years ago to his recent speeches there is a noticeable decline in all aspects of
linguistic ability.

His rhetoric is the same but his delivery is totally different if you compare to this video.

look at what he says in this short clip, look at how often he uses the word "thing" or variants thereof, look how simplistic his language has become
and look at how he struggles to explain the concept of uranium. Now you could argue that this has been cherry picked, however this really quite
typical of Trumps spontaneous speech patters. He usually uses words repeatedly, words like "win", "things", "unbelievable", "people" and so on, its
simplistic and it shows a decline in his linguistic abilities when compared to twenty years ago.

Yet his use of language is just one factor that is suggestive of a progressive cognitive decline there are other behaviours that seem to be
concerning. When looked at in insolation these behaviours may just seem like transient moments of confusion but when looked at collectively then they
make up a much more worrying pattern.

I am sure by now everyone has seen this video of Trump being confused at times.

What is worrying is that this is just over Trumps first six months in office, this is not some video of him over period of years. In his first few
months Donald Trump has shown several times that he is having transient confusion. And this is just what is seen in public, what is going on in
private could be much worse.

There are other things as well that could suggest some form of cognitive impairment, for example his late night twitters storms at 4 am making all
kinds of odd accusations. His inhibitions at times seem to escape him such as when he was a making fun of a disabled reporter. This are all behaviours
that I do not think that the Donald Trump of 20 years ago would exhibit. Now yes we could just say that this is just Donald being Donald but I think
we would be remised to acknowledge that this could be be something more.

Does Trump have Alzheimer’s? The question at the heart of this thread, honestly I don't know, what I do think is that its entirely possible and
might be one reason for his behaviours. As I said previously until such a time as a official diagnosis is presented we will really have no way of
knowing. What we can say for certainty is that Trump would be categorised as being “at risk” of developing dementia of some form, we also can say
that his linguistic abilities have declined and we can also say that he has in the last 6 months demonstrated some worrying sings of confusion.

Alzheimer’s disease is progressive so what we can also say with a degree of certainty is that if these possible symptoms get worse over the next few
years a diagnosis of Alzheimers may become more certain. If that does happen then there is a possibility of a 25th Amendment intervention however I do
not think that will happen unless the symptoms become much more noticeable.

Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms including impaired thinking and memory. It is a term that is often associated with the
cognitive decline of aging. However, issues other than Alzheimer’s can cause dementia. Other common causes of dementia are Huntington’s Disease,
Parkinson’s Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

While both diseases are similar and many think they are the same they are not.

Does Trump have Alzheimer's? well it is said that Reagan had the beginning of the this devastating diseases while he was still in the White House, but
nobody knew only his personal doctor.

Dude I know what dementia is as I have said in the OP I work with people with dementia, I have been more more courses on it than I care to count.

I deliberately used the word "Dementia" in the title because I don't think anyone can be specific about what type he may have and also because I think
more people can identify with Dementia than with Alzheimer's

I also point out that we will never know for sure unless he has a official diagnosis

I think he's at an age where a number of medical ailments could manifest themselves, I see what you are getting at in the vids as well as Gemwolfs
thread the other week pointing out some peculiarities in his 'being 100% switched-on'.

Anyway, it's worth monitoring - if he starts fantasizing like Mad Max and Pelostit I'd be insisting he see a head-doctor pronto, otherwise he might
build the wall in the wrong spot or something even more embarrassing and sad.

Anyway, it's worth monitoring - if he starts fantasizing like Mad Max and Pelostit I'd be insisting he see a head-doctor pronto, otherwise he might
build the wall in the wrong spot or something even more embarrassing and sad.

Like crapping in his pants in front of the white house? I am sure many will love to see that one.

The OP is and opinion piece and as an opinion piece it can only be debated as what if.

I just saw him on tv. He face has really gotten thin and his belly looks like he's been on a strict diet. And he is , what, 70 years old. That's a lot
of pressure being the president must deal with daily.

Surely it is more likely Hilary has dementia as she keeps forgetting everything - classified information, what symbols mean etc

Trump has his faults but whatever that are it's far better that he is the president than Hilary. I just wish he had put her in jail!
For the record I thought Bill was a great president, it's not about party lines.

Anyway, it's worth monitoring - if he starts fantasizing like Mad Max and Pelostit I'd be insisting he see a head-doctor pronto, otherwise he might
build the wall in the wrong spot or something even more embarrassing and sad.

The OP is an opinion piece and as an opinion piece it can only be debated as what if.

Agreed, there is no (medical) evidence that he has a screw loose, or is having trouble functioning in his environment.

I'm sure he is being very closely monitored medically - the official WH physician can relieve him of his position instantly if the right medical
conditions manifest themselves.

...also worth noting the following ongoing medical support afforded to the POTUS & staff..

The Physician to the President (also known colloquially as the White House doctor) is the formal and official title of the physician who is
director of the White House Medical Unit, a unit of the White House Military Office responsible for the medical needs of the President of the United
States, Vice President, White House staff, and visitors. The Physician to the President is also the Chief White House Physician.

The White House Medical Unit (WHMU) is a unit of the White House Military Office and is responsible for the medical needs of White House staff and
visitors. The unit also provides medical care to the President, the Vice President, their families, and international dignitaries visiting the White
House.

I have a close family member with dementia and except for her annoyingly failing memory she speaks just fine. She uses "big" words and all.

Good luck with your theory.

Uh, its great that she uses big words and all, but if you read the links provided it shows the OPs description of vocabulary, declining, and more
simplified language is used, to be correct. Dementia is just an umbrella term. It covers all kinds of mental symptoms. One person may be affected
differently than another with the same diagnosis.

As for trump, that interview from the 80s and the way he speaks now, wow day and night. trump always seems to repeat words like Very, over and over
again to get his point across. Its not just very bad people , its very, very, very, bad people.

The OP is and opinion piece and as an opinion piece it can only be debated as what if.

Not really I have taken the time to put as many sources into it as I can, it is a fact that his speech has gotten worse over the years (granted that
is subjective), it is also a fact he is right in the "at risk" group and its also a fact that several times in the last few months he has displayed
what appears to be confusion.

The answer is unknown. As much as, many would speculate, it would require a medical doctor, a psychologist and a neurologist, along with testing to
see if there is anything there that should be looked at and to be of concern.

Dementia is a tricky thing, one day the person could be alright and appear totally lucid and normal, and other times when it appears as though the
person went off his rocker. Changes to the persons routine, and place where they live, can cause a decline. It is a horrid problem and disease that
makes the person a prison within their own mind, a disjunction in the mind and brain.

I for one, would like to see Trump undergo a complete physical, both for the body and the mind and see the results of such, and not what all his
personal doctor and he decides to release.

I am sure you did you research and is a good one, I actually comment you for it, but unless his own physician comes forward or any doctor that has
attended Trump in personal matter over time, we can only speculate about his mental and physical well being.

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